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Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine, M.D., professor of medicine and associate dean for graduate medical education at the Larner College of Medicine (left), and Rup Tandan, M.D., professor of neurological sciences

(JANUARY 7, 2025) Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine, M.D., professor of medicine and associate dean for graduate medical education at the Larner College of Medicine, and Rup Tandan, M.D., professor of neurological sciences, commented for a Vermont Public story about a Department of Health report showing that the number of Vermonters with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, is above the national average.

In 2023, 27 Vermonters reported having an ALS diagnosis, which comes out to 2.9 patients per 100,000 residents when the data is age adjusted. The CDC estimates the incidences of ALS to be approximately two cases per 100,000 across the U.S.

Levine cautioned against jumping to any conclusions based on some reports linking ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, with the blue-green algae blooms that have been showing up in some Vermont lakes and ponds in summer; he has questioned the studies linking cyanobacteria to ALS.

“It’s not a huge amount of information in this very first rendition,” Levine said. “And so our confidence in the amount of reporting, we don’t really know yet. We’ll have to see year to year.”

“Some of these research studies may lead to new therapeutic targets in the disease that may benefit patients with the disease,” said Tandan, who directs the ALS Clinic at UVM Medical Center. “So I think it’s important to make sure that we do a good and thorough epidemiological analysis of data, and collect that data from patients so we have a better understanding of the disease.”